


Chicken, Charles Dickens, and Lovely Swivel Chairs

by TimeToRemember



Series: Own Me, Hold Me, Love Me 'verse [5]
Category: Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Slavery, Books, Collars, Dom/sub, Dubious Consent, Hand Feeding, M/M, Master/Slave, Ownership, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-24
Updated: 2015-03-24
Packaged: 2018-03-19 10:18:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3606480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeToRemember/pseuds/TimeToRemember
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Jem clashes with Gabriel Lightwood, semi-successfully asserts his authority, and discovers (with Will's assistance) a new kink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chicken, Charles Dickens, and Lovely Swivel Chairs

“It’s Gabriel Lightwood, sir.”

Frank was, as always, a godsend in these situations, a beacon of calm in the midst of colossal disarray. There was no sign, in his expression or his stance, of the tension that Jem knew he had to be feeling at this particular turn of events, no sign of anything, really, beyond the unflappable, calmly detached politeness he greeted all of Jem’s visitors with.

Jem’s proud of him. He always has been, of course, even at the beginning, when Frank was new to their household and silent more often than not, feeling out his place with all the cautious wariness of an injured stray cat, but especially now, as he stood in Jem’s elegant foyer with confidence and certainty, meeting the disdainful expression of the man that had very nearly had him killed with nothing more than calm disinterest. No sign remained of the broken youth that Jem had rescued that rainy night.

Jem had been spending his Friday evening in the library when Gabriel had arrived, taking a few precious hours to practice one of his new pieces, a particularly difficult concerto that he hoped to give to his seniors the following week. He’d been utterly unaware of the approaching chaos, and it had been Frank that had saved him from the embarrassment of being entirely unprepared, mustering the servants, taking the news to Jem, and managing to hide Will upstairs in a flurry of activity that Gabriel, faced with Frank’s unfailing impassivity, and seeing nothing untoward, could only guess at.

Jem didn’t know what he’d do without him.

 

Gabriel’s expression changed, disdain turning into open dislike as he studied Frank for a beat longer, taking in his chosen uniform – striped grey shirt, darker grey slacks, _Jem’s colours_ – and then he turned away abruptly, stalking past as if Frank had simply ceased to exist. 

Not for the first time, Jem considered relocating. If it prevented moments like these happening with such irritating frequency, it would be worth the cost. 

“I heard you bought a new pet, Carstairs,” Gabriel drawled as he approached, maddeningly conversational aristocratic tone already beginning to grate. “Can I see him? Or has he slipped the leash already? I’ve said it before: you’re not strict enough for this.” He shook his head slowly, as if in despair.

Jem smiled thinly, concealing the strong desire to commit bodily harm under a thin veneer of social politeness. “His name is William. No, you cannot see him, Gabriel – he’s resting.” A necessary deception, but only considerable experience kept him from cringing at what his statement implied.  
“So that’s why you’ve changed your tune, James. I should have known that all it would take was a pretty little face to dissolve your useless pretensions.” He sounded admiring, of all things, and Jem abruptly decided that his servants had heard enough.

“What do you want, Gabriel?” he asked flatly, linking his slim hands together behind his back. “I trust that you did not travel all this way to make unwarranted comments about my recent purchases.” He smiled again, equally thinly, and was viciously satisfied at the way Gabriel gaped at him for a good five seconds.

“I just wanted to remind you that my services are always available,” Gabriel recovered finally, drawing himself up with a distinctly pompous air that served only to make him look rather ridiculous, “should you have difficulties with this – _William._ I’ve heard a rumour or two about his behaviour, and should your inexperience make things difficult, I’m always willing to help out.” 

“That will not be necessary.” Jem barely waited for him to finish speaking before he interjected coldly, bringing to an abrupt end to his obnoxious advice. “Thank-you for your concern, Gabriel, but I am managing just fine. Frank will see you out.” 

Gabriel blustered for a moment or two, but then finally swept out with poor grace as soon as it became obvious that no other options were available to him, brushing roughly past Frank on his way through the still-open door.

Frank closed it behind him, and Jem finally relaxed, shoulders dropping with relief.

 

Half an hour later he was working hard in his study, vision beginning to blur as he opened up yet another spreadsheet of incomprehensible figures. They were supposed to detail his pupil’s assessment records, but they could have been the results of a study on fertilizer for all the sense he could make of them.

His study was one of the simpler rooms in the house, with a dark wooden floor and paneled walls alleviated by a large, soft, tan-coloured rug and deliberately bright lights hung on brackets. There was little furniture, only the huge oak desk currently playing host to his laptop and a pile of books, a swivel chair, a matching bookshelf, and a chaise lounge. Jem used it as infrequently as he could afford to, preferring the warm friendliness of his library, but it was an environment conducive to productivity in a way his library was not, and if he was to be the responsible human being his family remain convinced he is not, then he needed to do more than practice his violin and occasionally plan classes.

The soft click of his door opening startled him, so unexpected was it, and yet, somehow, he wasn’t surprised when Will stepped through the gap.

Dressed in soft grey slacks and a casual shirt, first three buttons undone to reveal flawless, smooth skin and the collar Jem had picked for him, he looked, well, _good._ Delectable, even, if you factored in sleep-ruffled dark hair and deep blue eyes, not to mention that sinful smile of his, and Jem did. So with a soft sigh, Jem saved his work and closed the laptop.

“Come here,” he instructed gently, smiling momentarily as Will moved almost before the words left his mouth. He slid his chair back, and Will settled down, without instruction, on the floor between his legs, kneeling gracefully with his hands behind his back. Long, dark eyelashes fluttered against pale skin as Will looked up, and Jem had to drag in a sharp breath at the sight.

Smiling, Jem threaded his fingers through Will’s soft hair, gently drawing his head forwards to rest against his thigh. Will moved willingly, a soft murmur indicating growing contentment, so Jem indulged, stroking Will’s hair until he looked thoroughly blissed out, barely able to keep his eyes open.

He tried – and failed – not to feel smug about it.

“Why did you come down, Will?” he asked eventually, finally releasing his hair to slip the tips of his fingers beneath his collar instead, drawn there as if by a magnet.

“Frank looked flustered,” Will replied airily, managing to tilt his head back to look up at him without dislodging his hand. “And given that Frank is usually a prime example of self-satisfied contentment, I was curious.” He shrugged, smiling brightly, and Jem had to work to suppress the answering smile he could feel twitching at his lips.

Instead, he tugged lightly on the ends of Will’s hair, earning an inquisitive noise. “I told you to stay upstairs,” he said mildly enough, letting just the slightest hint of reproach make itself known.

“Until your visitor had left,” Will replied deceptively earnestly, looking up at Jem with big, wide eyes and a profoundly unrepentant smirk. “He’s gone, hasn’t he?”

Jem sighed, again, and admitted reluctantly that yes, Will was quite correct, he had left.

“See?” Will replied with relish, wicked smile back in full force now that he believed he was in the clear. “I have been good. In fact, I’m the best. A natural. Truly, you’re lucky to have someone so wonderfully gifted – “

Jem tightened his grip, and Will, able as always to work out what he was thinking, subsided with a soft, disgruntled noise. Jem loosened up immediately after, made a few soothing sounds, and was gratified to feel Will melt against him again. “You’re a brat,” Jem told him far too fondly, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. “Now, quiet. Some of us do have work to do.”

Wonder of all wonders, Will actually obeyed him, making not a sound as Jem opened up his laptop and continued where he had left off. He was so surprised that it took him at least ten minutes to wipe the slightly dazed smile off his face and actually do some work, but Will didn’t seem to notice, head pillowed comfortably against his thigh again. It lasted right up until Frank knocked politely on the door to inform him that dinner was ready.

When he was eating alone, Jem avoided the large dining room, keeping it locked up unless he needed to entertain. That way, he reduced his cleaner’s workload, and saved himself from the rather dull situation of eating at the head of a large, empty table, in a large, empty room. Instead, he typically dined in the front room, on the small but ornate table and chair set he’d had custom-made, or, when he was particularly determined to make significant progress, in his study.

He asked Will to choose between the two, offering the added comfort of a cushion to protect his knees, and Will decided that they would remain in the study.

 

The meal had been chicken curry, cooked to exquisite perfection, and yet Jem could barely remember what it had tasted like. He’d offered Will a bite off the end of his fork almost idly, just to see how he’d react, and Will had simply smiled up at him and closed his lips around the offering, hollowing his cheeks entirely unnecessarily as he plucked it free and ate it with astonishing delicacy, the very tip of his tongue emerging once he had finished to flick lightly over his bottom lip.

Subsequently, Jem had spent the remainder of the meal watching Will quite unashamedly, pausing in his scrutiny only occasionally to take a few bites of his own portion in-between feeding Will small, bite-sized chunks from his fingers.

Will had perked up at the sight of the food, straightening up to sit more alertly at Jem’s feet, chin tilted up as he accepted each carefully-sized offering, and Jem had, subsequently, released him in entirety to handle their food. By the time they reached the halfway point, however, Will’s eyes had darkened noticeably, and he had leaned in to press bodily against Jem’s leg, one hand wrapping around his ankle. 

Jem finished feeding him, coaxing his head up for each bite, and then set both plates to one side. He cleaned his hands on the napkin Frank had provided for him, and then, smiling down at Will as fondly as he wanted to – he wasn’t watching – he laid his hands back on him, smiling all over again at the quiet hum his actions produced. Will looked dazed and a little spaced-out, blinking up at Jem with huge, dark eyes, and Jem had to give in, leaning down to wrap him up in a gentle hug.

A soft knock heralded the return of Frank, and Jem let Will draw back while he collected their plates, although he threaded two of his fingers through the ring on the collar, maintaining both contact and their proximity until the door clicked shut again and he could tug him closer. 

 

Jem had never allowed himself to expect this. Not when he’d sent Frank off to ensure Will was his, not when a week had passed and Will hadn’t made one attempt to escape, and not even when they’d completed the official collaring ceremony that established him as Will’s legal owner. Will’s notes had been extensive – subject is reckless, sarcastic, rebellious, and defiant – and Jem had doubted his purchase almost immediately, expecting little more than a fight for control. 

Instead, William Herondale – intelligent, beautiful, _perfect_ Will Herondale – was a young man seemingly starved of affection, to the extent that even the lightest, most inconsequential touch inspired an expression that strayed far too close to awe for Jem to do anything other than indulge him again and again when all the advice he’d ever had on the matter of owning one’s first slave instructed otherwise. 

_What happened to him, to make him like this?_

He couldn’t ask, even if the question did occupy a considerable amount of his waking thoughts, so, instead, he tried to convey to him how much he’d come to mean to Jem in such a short time, tried to, in essence, show him his value.

So he touched him a lot, meaningfully, letting his fingers pass over the collar at least once every time he saw him. He told him how good he was whenever he behaved, even the smallest action obtaining genuine praise. He used his name a shade more often than was entirely necessary. He kept him informed, and never underestimated his intelligence. And he avoided, time and time again, articulating what their relationship had come to mean to him.

 

Jem released Will, eventually, as soon as he looked significantly more aware and focused, sliding his chair back to get to his feet. He didn’t say anything until Will automatically started to follow him up, at which point he stopped him with a soft word, meeting his look of surprise with carefully constructed blandness. Will started to look mutinous, tensing up, and even more so when Jem placed a slender finger against his lips and told him not to speak, but as Jem lingered, refusing to move without confirmation, the expression faded, replaced by seemingly genuine calm. Jem rewarded him with a soft kiss to his cheek and stood up entirely, stepping around him and over to the bookshelf.

After a moment’s consideration, Jem chose one of the books, stifling a grin with some difficulty. It was an early edition of Dickens’s _Hard Times_ , hardback, still in flawless condition despite being both well-handed and well-read – Jem was fond of the classics, while Will was, at best, scathing about Dickens’s prose, and at worse openly contemptuous, taking considerable enjoyment out of isolating excerpts to tear apart with seemingly unrivalled glee – and he flicked it open with a flourish, tossed the bookmark aside, and cast a quick glance at Will, who was, to his immediate pleasure, kneeling again. 

He looked confused.

Grin firmly concealed, Jem handed him the book, apropos of nothing, and returned to his chair.

Will stared at him. 

“Read,” Jem offered idly, firmly amused and more so with each passing moment.

Will turned his flat stare on the book in his hands.

Jem very pointedly did _not_ roll his eyes, and equally pointedly refused to feel at all charmed by how young bewilderment made Will look. _Gently, gently._ “William,” he said sharply, claiming his attention with gratifying immediacy, “read from the book.”

“But _Hard Times_?” Will protested vehemently. “Of all the books you could have chosen, this is the one you decided upon? _This?_ And I thought you had taste. This is a travesty. Please, anything but this.”

Jem put his hand over Will’s mouth, bringing a halt to any further words on the matter. “William. Next time you decide to insult my taste, remember that I was the one that chose you, and that I think I have _excellent_ taste. Now,” and his tone sharpened as he continued, “ _read from the book._ ”

Will was still flushed and Jem was still smirking at him when he finally complied.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this has taken me a very long time to produce. In my defence, however I'm in my final year of uni, so I've been busy. I'm not sure how much longer this series will last - I have a few other ideas I'm eager to pursue instead - but this is not yet the end, I promise. 
> 
> Thank-you, all of you, for your enduring interest, especially [newsiesgirllaces](http://archiveofourown.org/users/newsiesgirllaces/pseuds/newsiesgirllaces) and [callasyndra](http://archiveofourown.org/users/callasyndra/pseuds/callasyndra) for your lovely comments.


End file.
